Rigid Customer Support

[N.ShoreFisher]

Ok, so in my quest to find info on my lathe and any duplicators or accessories to go with it, I contacted Rigid's customer support for info, and oh my god was it the worst experience EVER with a company's tech support. Let me share my experience, as I will def not pay for any future equipment from either Rigid, TTI or Ryobi(they're all the same parent company). First I got a woman who told me that they never made a lathe....I explained that I was looking at one on their site....but that it was the 1200, and I had the 12000. I asked if the 1200 was just the newer model, so she asked for my serial#, which I provided. She tells me she has no info on it, but that it was made in 1999, and to hold on a second while she "Googled it". I stopped her and said, "I've spent the last 3 days looking on the internet, google included, and that's why I was calling her.(Their own company has to use google to get info on their products....that's scary!!!). Then she states that the 1200 and 12000 are the same thing. I say, ok, is there someone who works with lathes there that I can speak to? She sends me from customer service to tech support. I then get another woman who tells me they've never made a lathe. I explain that I'm looking at my lathe, which says Rigid. She says " TTI has never made a lathe, but bought the Rigid name a few years ago, so she can't speak about anything that was made before TTI acquired the company. I said, "I thought I was speaking to Rigid." Well you are, but only in name she says, but we don't support anything before we bought the company. Really?!?!?!?! So I ask, "if the 1200 and 12000 are the same model, does she have a manual she can send me?" Yes, she can email it.
Ok, so that's one thing. I then ask if they make any duplicators compatible with the 1200. "Like a duplicate of the lathe?" No, I tell her what a duplicator is and that it's a pretty standard accessory for lathes. "I've never heard of a duplicator and I used to build refurbished lathes for Ryobi" she says. I ask if there is a Pro or Contractor dept that deals with people on the job site or in workshops. She says no. I then ask if there's anyone there that has ACTUALLY USED a lathe for woodworking. She starts in again with "we at Rigid have never built a duplicator". A few minutes ago, she was telling me that not only did TTI, not Rigid, not take ownership of anything made prior to the takeover, but that no one in her center, including managers or supervisors had ever heard of a duplicator. I thanked her for her time and patience(I'm in customer service, so I tried to not be like some of my customers) and told her that it might be helpful if she passed along to her supervisors, the importance of basic knowledge of parts and accessories for the company that she works for, or at the very least, have alternative places to send customers with these types of questions.

All in all, even though my lathe was free, and I'm very thankful for it, I can't see myself EVER getting anything made by Rigid, Ryobi or TTI or whoever the hell they are. Just wanted to pass this along in case anyone else ran into this kind of stuff.

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by N.ShoreFisher

I will def not pay for any future equipment from either Rigid, TTI or Ryobi(they're all the same parent company).

great choice

because it's the old get what you pay for


I hear you on the

[Charleston]

Post a picture of your lathe. We (plug builders) can tell you more than any CS dept.

[N.ShoreFisher]

it's in the New Lathe for Father's Day thread.

[Raven]

thanks for the INFO regardless
gives me a great response to the SALES pitch
at HD about what a bargain their rigid line of tools is...
durin the holidays

i've never been real happy with the always loosening chuck
having my bits effing (i am gitten bettah JR ) fallen out
all the effing time

[N.ShoreFisher]

Originally Posted by Raven

thanks for the INFO regardless
gives me a great response to the SALES pitch
at HD about what a bargain their rigid line of tools is...
durin the holidays

i've never been real happy with the always loosening chuck
having my bits effing (i am gitten bettah JR ) fallen out
all the effing time

The sad thing is that there's nothing wrong with the Rigid tools that I have. It upset me more that the people that were working there would not take any ownership of the product. If they had at least sounded sympathetic or at the very least, hadn't tried to convince me that "they never made a lathe" and that I was crazy because I was talking about something(a duplicator) that was clearly some sort of radical add on that no one in customer service had ever heard of. Then I might have come away with a slightly better feeling.

[N.ShoreFisher]

and to top it all off, they never did send me that manual for the newer model that they said they would.